Exploring the link between employee experience and employee engagement

Let’s face it: The conversation about employee experience versus employee engagement is outdated. In today’s world of business, it’s clear that these two concepts are two sides of the same coin – inseparable.

⭐ You can’t improve the employee experience without considering engagement, and vice versa. ⭐

From the moment a candidate applies to when they leave, HR and business leaders must create an environment that keeps people motivated and connected. Today’s HR leaders know that everything from recruitment to recognition must work together to build a strong EVP. When you deliver a fantastic experience at every step of the employee journey, you engage your team and help them see how their roles connect to the company’s mission. If someone decides to move on, that’s okay, too – what matters is that they feel valued throughout their time with you. By focusing on both employee experience and engagement, companies can create a workplace that attracts and retains top talent, leading to better results for everyone.Today’s HR leaders don’t look at recruitment, onboarding, pay and benefits, recognition and reward, employee communications, management, learning and development or leadership in isolation. They create a holistic Employee Value Proposition that fuels engagement and creates a culture that becomes a differentiator for their organization.

Employees notice what their employers deliver on, and measure your business against their own expectations.

That means delivering an exceptional experience throughout every day, hour and minute of the employee journey, enabled by the right combination of tools to engage and motivate them.

By focusing on engagement through the lens of the employee experience, you can see critical touch points to engage employees – such as sending them a Welcome to the Team eCard their very first day, centralizing their onboarding and benefits documentation in one platform for them to easily keep track of what your company offers, and making sure they feel connected to the business day in and day out with strategic communications – no matter where they’re working. You can also use surveys as additional pulse checks throughout the employee experience to get a full picture of how your employees are feeling.

As your employee may start to look at other roles in or outside of your business, it’s important to remind them why they started with you in the first place, and how their day-to-day role connects with your organization’s mission and purpose – you can tap into key moments of their own journey to shine a spotlight on the work that they’re doing and prove to them that it matters. 

Of course, if they do decide to leave, that’s okay, too. In today’s market, you need to make sure the development of your teams is first and foremost, which can also mean getting someone ready for their next job.

When you look at all of the inputs of the employee experience, the outcome that all companies should strive for is a more engaged workforce. Think of the experience as the administrative side of HR, and engagement as how they feel and what you as a business can do to impact your employees.

We know that engaged employees are more aligned with the mission, purpose and values of the company, and that creating an environment where it’s easier to attract, engage and retain top talent will ultimately lead to better business results. 

Employee experience is not a one-size-fits-all solution – we know that everyone and every company has a different employee life cycle – but there are certain levers HR leaders can pull to make that experience amazing. Supporting your people strategy with tools that will improve both the employee experience and engagement will help define your employees’ unique experiences with their company, and ultimately make their world a better place to work. 

Schedule a call with one of our friendly employee experience experts to learn more about how Reward Gateway | Edenred can help you strengthen your employee value proposition and make your organization a better place to work!